Awkwafina, who was honored at Variety‘s Power of Women luncheon presented by Lifetime on Friday, talked about how music can change children’s lives, and the impact it had on her own.

Awkwafina was being honored for her work with Building Beats, which provides equipment, workshops and mentoring for minority and low-income youth who want to go into music production but don’t have the resources.

“After my YouTube video, ‘My Vag,’ went viral, I then proceeded to record, produce, mix and master an album sitting on my bed,” she said. “If it wasn’t for my intense love affair with music, I would not be here today.”

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